Sin of the Father
by FreshlyJuicedBeetles
Summary: Shego meets with her father. Warnings: Child abuse and forced eating disorders, some gore.


The phone at the robotics workstation rang, startling Drakken, causing him to solder through the motherboard.

He groaned loudly. He had been working on that motherboard for days!

"What?" He snapped, answering the phone.

"Stephanie?" The voice on the other line questioned.

Drakken leaned back in his seat, "Listen, pal if you think I sound like a Stephanie we both have issues."

"Is Stephanie _Gordon _there?"

Drakken's eyes narrowed, "How'd you get this number?"

"Is she there?" The voice asked, getting tired of Drakken's perceived runaround.

"No, she's not." Drakken was getting suspicious and it sounded in his voice. GJ had sent her on a short mission for the day.

The man on the other end sighed, "Just- just tell her to call me. My number is still the same. I'm her father." The call abruptly disconnected.

Drakken sat back up in his chair and thought. Shego and her father Sam had been estranged for longer than Drakken had known her. She had divulged little tidbits of his parenting which were less than stellar at best and abusive at worst.

Through the GJ computers, Drakken could run a full background check on this guy. He didn't trust him. What did he want all of a sudden? Drakken knew criminals (the irony was not lost on him) and as much as Drakken hoped he wasn't, Gordon could be up to something. If he so much as sneezed near a traffic camera, GJ would show it.

Samuel James Gordon, divorced from Shego's and her brother's mother for several years, a failed MMA fighter, terrible credit score, lives in the not so good part of town, unemployed but has self-published a book on Team Go. No criminal history and no weapons registered to him. This guy was a Loser with a capital L who lived vicariously through his kids, mostly Shego. Drakken was satisfied that Gordon _probably_ wasn't up to anything. It was up to Shego if she wanted to speak to him.

Midevening rolled around, and the lab began to shut down for the night. Techs and assistants turned off their computers and all unnecessary equipment shut down. Paul was fed and put in her kennel for the night. Overnight security began to show up. Drakken never noticed the lively hum the running lab emitted until it was gone.

Shego walked in with a few other GJ agents who had friends or partners that worked for him, the burning sun shining behind her. In her catsuit and flowing raven hair, laughing with one of her colleagues, she looked absolutely beautiful. And powerful. Stars, what did she see him?

"Hey loser," She greeted, walking up to his workstation. 'Loser' had somehow become a term of endearment from her to him long ago. "What do you want for dinner? Heath gave me more Bueno Nacho gift cards for my birthday and it sounds kinda good right now. That sound good to you? I don't feel like cooking."

Drakken was a million miles away. He had no idea how he was going to tell her that her father was asking for her. He would never keep anything from her, but he also wanted to protect her from any emotional trauma Gordon's presence brought about. Once again, Drakken reminded himself that it was up to her to decide what to do.

"Yeah, sounds good." Drakken answered.

"Sweet," Shego replied, going off to change.

As much as Drakken was annoyed with GJ's restrictions, the little amenities assuaged him, like a laundry and tailor service. Apparently, his lab gear and her suit needed to be laundered a certain way? It took him a very long time to figure out that leather cannot survive the rinse and dry cycle. Shego had only been at his side for a week when she commented that he looked like he was mottling. The leather of his lab coat was dry and cracked. Once he thought about it yeah, it made sense, he dealt with biohazardous and/or corrosive materials on a daily basis, things he really didn't want to bring home on his clothing. Every morning in his office, he was greeted by a fresh lab coat hanging up and his lab boots expertly shined. Shego's own suits were cleaned as well.

Shego emerged in a black tank top, her hair pulled back and comfy shorts, her purse slung over her shoulder. Soon, they headed home.

Shego had her long legs kicked up on the dashboard, soaking up the dying sun, her sunglasses on and her shoes off as she scrolled through her phone. Drakken saw the opportunity.

"Get any weird calls lately?" He asked, swallowing hard.

"No," Shego replied casually, "Our provider is pretty good at filtering out spam and robocalls."

"Really?" Drakken paused, "I did."

"Oh yeah?" Shego said, still looking at her phone, "What was it?"

"Uh, it was your dad, looking for you."

Shego froze. "What?"

"I didn't give him your number. He said he wants to talk. His number is still the same."

Shego sighed, "I'm not talking to him."

"You don't have to," Drakken replied.

There was a tense silence.

"What does he even want?"

"I dunno." Drakken shrugged, "He didn't say."

Shego threw her head back against the seat and pouted, "Would I be a bad daughter if I ignored him?"

"I don't think I'm the greatest moral compass, Stef, but from everything you told me, you don't own him anything."

Shego's head rolled to look out the window. She groaned. "I guess I'll talk to him. It might be important."

Shego drug her feet on contacting her father, but Drakken didn't push her. She had been tense and quiet and snappy the entire week. Late Thursday afternoon, she made the call and arranged to meet with him that Saturday at a café. Shego didn't linger on the line for conversation. A café, public but non-committal, you weren't stuck there through the appetizer and entre round if things went south.

Drakken parked in front of the café. Shego sighed and grabbed her purse from the floorboards.

"Want me to go in with you?" He asked, hoping to offer support.

"No. Keep the car running." She said, pushing her sunglasses to her head.

Drakken hoped this went well, for her sake.

Shego went in and ordered a black coffee and sat down. Shego took a seat and from where she sat, Drakken could see her and her table fine, minus a glare. She just wanted Drew there without actually being there.

They both sat for a few moments when a scrawny but still somehow paunchy man with salt and pepper hair passed by the car and walked inside. That could _not_ have been Shego's father. She must have gotten her looks from her mother. Geez, even Drakken himself could beat this guy up. Drakken dropped down, not wanting to be seen, fearing that he could be seen even through the car's tinted windows.

Drakken's phone rang and it was Shego. Confused, he answered, "Hello?"

"Stephanie, look you great." He heard Gordon say. The man made a move to hug her, but Shego didn't make a move to reciprocate. Drakken felt second-hand embarrassment for the guy, watching the hug slowly die. Shego wanted Drakken to hear their conversation as she placed her phone to the side.

"How long has it been?" Gordon asked, sitting down.

Shego shrugged, saying nothing.

Her father looked around, nervously drumming on his thighs. "I heard you got married. Eloped. I'm not surprised. Not crazy about you not telling me…"

Shego cut him off, "What do you want?"

He looked flabbergasted. "You're my daughter…"

"No, I was your pet project. You didn't pay any attention to me until I nearly died in that treehouse and came out with powers. Then, you made me into what you wanted, what you couldn't be. The boys," Shego shook her head, "they were extra, bonuses, just along for the ride. Hell, you even told me I was radioactive, some Radium Girl, to keep me under your thumb."

Shego's black painted nails drummed on the side of her coffee mug, "God, how much did I miss because of you? All kinds of parties, birthdays, dances. Mom had to convince you to let me do anything, even to go to Prom. You said everything was a distraction." She said, carefully, drawing out this man's torture. This meeting was not going as well as he hoped and it showed on his face.

"I just wanted what was best for you. You had, _have_ so much potential. I thought that that was what you wanted…"

"Did you ask?" Shego exclaimed, her eyes wide, "How many calories was I allowed to have? A couple a hundred? A healthy teenage girl needs 2,200 calories a day and I sure as hell wasn't getting that. Remember that earthquake in Tokyo you pulled us out of school for, so we could do search and rescue?"

Shego paused and when she spoke again, her voice was strained with emotion, "I'll never forget the smell of leaking gasoline, a little girl's cries for help from under the rubble of her school, her hand sticking through the debris, clawing for help. I told her it would be alright, I don't know if she understood me, I just learned a few Japanese phrases on the flight over, I took her hand and it wasn't connected to her anymore. I held her bloody, dismembered hand, Dad." She said through gritted teeth, tears streaming down her face, shaking her own hand. "I was sixteen. I still remember."

"I don't know what to say…"

"There's nothing you can say." Shego replied. Her fingers started to twitch and constrict, subconsciously, she wanted to lash out, to light the café up with green plasma. "There are just some things you can't undo."

They sat for a moment in silence before Shego grabbed her purse, "Don't contact me. Ever again."

She hurried out of the café and back into the SUV with her husband.

Drakken knew better to say anything to Shego as she got in. She needed her space and he would be there for her when she was ready. He looked at Gordon through the windshield and the café's window and he was looking back. Gordon couldn't see Drakken through the tinted windows but knew it was him behind the wheel. Drakken held the man's eyes before putting the SUV in reverse and pulling away. Shego pulled her sunglasses back down over her eyes, tears on her cheeks reflecting in the afternoon sun, and remained silent the entire way home. Drakken did what he could to keep her comfortable, making sure the temperate in the vehicle was good, that it wasn't blowing on her too much, that the radio volume wasn't too loud. He wouldn't press her to talk.

When they returned home, Shego went upstairs. Drakken gave her some time to herself before he went up to check on her.

She could never accept his apology if he offered one. There was a finality she felt. The last time she saw him was when her Mom asked for a divorce when Shego was nineteen and he left with only an old suitcase. She hoped he'd just turn to dust and leave her be. Now, it was like he finally was dead. She sobbed and beat the bed with clenched fists, mourning for her father and what she never had. Drakken merely held Shego as she painfully mourned her father.


End file.
